Bethel, CT Soliciting & Door-to-Door: Solicitor Permits (2026)

Chapter 77, adopted by the Board of Selectmen on November 13, 1978, licenses peddling and soliciting town-wide. Section 77-1 bars anyone from peddling, vending, hawking or soliciting sales on a public street or house to house without a Board of Selectmen license, but carves out sales by farmers and gardeners of their own produce, delivery of ice, milk and bakery goods, and house-to-house sales of newspapers, magazines, cosmetics and home products. Section 77-2 leaves issuance entirely to the Board's discretion, which can grant a license for one day, one week, one month or up to a year and can demand evidence of the applicant's fitness and the accuracy of any scales or measures used.

Section 77-5 requires every applicant to hold a valid Connecticut sales tax permit before a license issues. Section 77-4 exempts anyone running an established store or place of business in Bethel, and any bona fide charitable, civic, educational, fraternal or religious organization based in town, from the licensing requirement entirely. The Board can revoke a license at any time for cause under § 77-3B, and each day a violation continues counts as a separate offense under § 77-6, which can multiply fines quickly for an unlicensed operation running over several days.